GIRARD, Kan. — County Counselor Jim Emerson announced a tentative timeline for new zoning ordinances. In conversations with adviser Josh Albins, Emerson said he expects a rough draft to be presented to the commission by June 23. Albins plans to attend that meeting via Zoom to answer any questions.

Between July 7 and July 10, Albins plans to present the official recommendations of the zoning board to the commission.

The commission will be able to vote on specific pieces of the new ordinances, allowing them to approve some articles and send others back to the zoning board for reconsideration.

Commissioner Bruce Blair attended the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission’s annual meeting on Thursday. After attending a presentation by Tim Dawsey, executive director of Advancement of Applied Science and Technology at Pittsburg State, Blair suggested setting up a work session with Dawsey to discuss his goal of getting southeast Kansas recognized as the center of polymer and plastics research in Kansas.

"I think he’s spot on,” Blair said. “We need to try to get companies to come here and build their factories. There are 11 counties involved in the commission and all of them are interested, so we need to be quick about this.”

With AI becoming more widespread, Blair said the county needs to have real jobs that can’t be replaced.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews